In dressage competitions, horse and rider teams perform a formalized sequence of specific movements. For many movements, it can be important to maintain the horse's head at a specific angle, such as pitch, yaw, and/or roll. The angle of the horse's head, however, can be difficult for the rider to observe while riding the horse.
It has now been found that an apparatus for providing information concerning the position of the head of a horse to the rider may be provided. A position indication apparatus may comprise a housing configured to be secured to the head of the horse, a first light source oriented to be visible to a rider of the horse when so secured, a power source and control circuit disposed within the housing, and a pitch determination device disposed within the housing for determination of a pitch of the head of the horse. The control circuit may be configured to compare the measured pitch of the head of the horse relative to a predetermined or rider-defined ideal pitch and to illuminate the light source using one of the plurality of illumination options to thereby provide pitch information to the rider. The illumination may vary over a spectrum between predetermined minimum and maximum pitches of the horse's head.
The illumination options may include a plurality of colors that correspond to ranges of pitches relative to the ideal pitch. For example, the illumination device may display a green light when the head of the horse is at an ideal pitch. This green light may change over a spectrum of colors to a red light when the pitch of the head of the horse is at a predetermined maximum or may change over a different spectrum of colors to a blue light when the head of the horse is at a predetermined minimum. The device may be configured to receive a secondary input from a secondary measurement device, such as a device that measures yaw or roll; a rein tension measurement device; or a device mounted to the rider of the horse. In alternative embodiments, the primary measurement device may be a device for measuring one of the above aspects of the horse or rider's position, and pitch measurement may be an optional secondary feature.
Also encompassed in various aspects of the disclosed invention are a method for receiving illumination information and a system. The inventive method generally comprises use of the position indication apparatus in accordance with its intended purpose. The inventive system generally comprises the apparatus in connection with a second device, for example, another sensor affixed to the horse or rider. The system alternatively or additionally may include a remote device that communicates with and/or receives communications from the apparatus. For example, the remote device may be configured to send a warning signal to the apparatus, whereby the apparatus is configured to provide warning information to the rider. Such system is used for providing a warning indication to the rider; for example, if an unforeseen horse hazard arises during a dressage competition, a judge may use the remote device to send a warning signal to the rider. The third party device may include a receiver for receiving information from the apparatus, such as horse head pitch data or color information for a display similar to the display that is visible to the rider.